Womb & Moon Cycles Through The Centuries

This post is one that I have been wanting to write about for a few months now. I am constantly in awe of the beautiful women I have the honor of serving in this line of work. Every labor and birth that I have had the privilege to hold has been so different from the next.

Back in September, I was with a mama during active labor and the sun was just going down outside of the windows nearby. I was assisting her while we did a side line release position on the bed, using gravity and creating more space for baby Leo to move into an optimal position for delivery. We worked together in this dance for a while as she focused on her breathing and calming her mind of negative thoughts.

In between contractions, she asked me about my doula experiences and what my training was like. She was always so fascinated with the birth work world and what we offer to our mamas emotionally and spiritually. I shared some of my past birth experiences with her and explained what topics we went over during the training period. Then she asked me something that has continued to stick with me for months. She asked me, “Did you ever learn anything regarding the pregnancy experiences of women from way back when?” I answered her truthfully and told her that I hadn’t but I was curious where she was going with her thought process. She expressed, “ Well I was just thinking that centuries ago they didn’t have calendars or technology to keep track of where they were at in their pregnancy. It makes me wonder if they used the moon cycles to “calculate” when they could expect their baby to arrive. Maybe after 9 or 10 new moon cycles, they would begin to prepare for their baby’s arrival”.

We continued adding to this topic, “Maybe women talked amongst each other about the mucus plug and how that indicated when labor would potentially start” or “Maybe they tallied how many days it had been since a missed bleed on a wall somewhere and added the days up”. We went on and on about how “word of mouth” was hundreds of years ago for women all over the world. This conversation resonated with me for days after because it made me question, how far have we come from the roots of our past regarding maternal care? Both good and bad? In what ways have modern inventions benefited us and how have they crushed the natural process that was created?

Women often flocked together in groups and discussed things amongst each other regarding cooking, clothes, children, and suitors. Now, we have evolved as a society where women talk more freely about topics that were deemed as “scandalous” for women to discuss back then. But, they had to have talked about birth too, right? From my findings, men often left the homes while women labored and came back after the delivery was complete. Other women in the town would come to support and offer aid to the laboring women the best that they could. But what information would mothers past down to other women that were pregnant and expecting for the first time? How prepared were they?

I have my own ideas of how I think communication was for women years and years ago but I can never be certain. I hope I come across a journal or diary from 300+ years ago so I can find out and have my questions answered hahaha. However, this small 10 minute conversation with my client has sent my mind into curiosity land for months. I am so grateful to be able to have these “huh” moments with other people and discuss topics that I would never have thought of before. It makes me even more curious about the foundation and roots of women and the untold stories, all around the world.

If you made it this far, thank you for going down this mental road with me lol! I’m sure you’ll have questions about this topic too and if you have thoughts to add or answers, please send me an email or message on Instagram <3

Warmly,

Kalista